AJAX — Brent Shaddock from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to cut through an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — A crew from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to take down an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax, like other communities, has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — Brent Shaddock from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to take down an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax, like other communities, has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — Brent Shaddock from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to cut through an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — Brent Shaddock from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to cut through an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — A crew from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to take down an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax, like other communities, has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
AJAX — Brent Shaddock from Ontario Line Clearing prepared to take down an ash tree in a woodlot near the intersection of Rollo and Hirons drives. For several years, Ajax, like other communities, has been battling to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Since 2012, the Town has spent about $2 million on the treatment and removal of trees infested by the bugs. About 400 ash trees will be cut down this year due to infestation. February 23, 2016. - Ron Pietroniro / Metroland
That’s what Ajax has spent since 2012 fighting the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that’s left a path of destruction across southern Ontario.
Tim Field, the manager of environmental services for the Town, said 382 ash trees will be removed this year, and that’s in addition to the 1,459 removed between 2013 and 2015.
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Speaking to council’s general government committee recently, Mr. Field noted trees have been removed along streets and in parks. This year, woodlots are being assessed and trees that can’t be saved are being removed.
In 2013, about eight per cent of trees on streets and in parks were ash, but that has since dropped to four per cent, he said.
A tree showing signs of EAB can be treated with an insecticide called Tree-Azin, which kills the insect larvae.
“As long as trees show no signs or symptoms of emerald ash borer, we’ll continue to treat them,” he said. “We’re at the peak of the emerald ash borer wave. That’s not a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing. We’ve got emerald ash borer everywhere in the community. We’re not done with this. I believe the costs will start to come down because we have it off the streets.”
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Trees can be treated “as long as they stay healthy and show now signs or symptoms,” Mr. Field added.
Treating an ash tree is cheaper than removing one, he noted, adding it would cost $5,000 to remove an ash tree on the Harwood Avenue median, but only $300 to $350 to treat it every two years.
“Plus, it adds value to our most important street. It would take a long time to get to $5,000,” he said.
Wards 3 and 4 Regional Councillor Colleen Jordan said, “It’s sad to see us cutting down trees, but obviously we don’t have a choice.”
In 2009, the Town did a survey “to determine what the urban forest looked like,” Mr. Field noted, adding the survey found the tree canopy covered 18.9 per cent.
He said 40 per cent “seems to be the number. It’s a good number to try and reach. We said we had 18.5 per cent. Let’s not go down below 18.5 per cent.”
As for what the canopy is now, another study would have to been done.
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Coun. Jordan said, “I don’t want us falling back. Trees are the answer to a lot of things and we need to get more of them. I want to get to 40 per cent in the years to come.”
As for updating the 2009 study, Mr. Field said, “We should be looking at it in the near future.”
